Researchers indicate that consent forms commonly used for drug studies involving antibiotics typically do not tell participants enough information about the goals of the trial, according to a new study.

A report published last week in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine raises questions about whether patients participating in antibiotic drug trials are able to truly give informed consent, given the incomplete information they are provided about the potential risks.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy found that the studies failed to adequately detail what the purpose and goals of those studies were.

The study looked at a cross-sectional analysis of study protocols, statistical analysis plans (SAPs), and informed consent forms (ICFs) from 78 randomized clinical trials submitted to the European Medicines Agency from 1991 to 2011 involving antibiotics.

According to the findings, these studies involved 17 different antibiotics and enrolled a total of 39,407 patients. However, many of the documents given to patients detailing the purpose and hypotheses of those studies were lacking in details. The researchers did an informed consent form analysis in 50 of the studies.